Pursuit of Happiness 02

Lyssa meets later with Ariel for a discussion of approaching the other packs about the meeting of their unmated members at the Wyeth den. Each Alpha would submit a list of potential attendees and suggest something that they would contribute.

While this time hosted by the Wyeth pack, the others also stood to gain at such a gathering and, thus, would help with the expense in some manner.

Lyssa and Ariel would either accept the lists or might ask to have the numbers reduced. While wolves did mate young sometimes it was not unusual for it to take some time for them to find their mates. Occasionally, also, a wolf might find a second mate.

It wasn't an instantaneous recognition but there would be an attraction between two werewolves which would usually grow. Scent played a big role.

Lyssa would need to be introduced to all the Alphas to complete this task.

She decides against asking Ariel about Nathan Severn.

That evening, in their room, Lyssa is curled up with Emmett on the couch.

"Did you really hit him with everything?"

"Hmm? Oh. Alpha Ross' son? Well..."

"Held back a bit, huh?"

"I didn't want to hurt him." She frowns.

"What's that for?"

"Joanna didn't think it was a good idea."

"She didn't think what was a good idea?"

"That I knocked him down, especially with the other male around. 'Serious loss of macho points..' Me being a changed female and all."

"Hmm."

"How would you feel if I knocked you down?"

He grabs her wrists and pins her to the couch. "Sounds like it could be fun." He rubs himself against her and kisses her.

[Serious, here.]

Emmett breaks the kiss and sighs. "It would probably annoy me."

"Probably?" She looks up at him. Those chocolate brown eyes. He's grinning, looking at her, hungry. She moves her legs a bit and twists, rolling him off the couch. She lands on him then jumps up and leaps over the couch.

As he sits up she says, "I want more time sparring. With a couple of the males."

A growl starts in his chest at the thought. The word comes out clipped, "Why?"

Feeling the jealousy roll off him, she circles back around the couch, crouches, throws her arms around him and licks the corner of his mouth.

"I've only been sparring with the females. A lot of them are smaller than me. I want to learn to fight against someone bigger. I want to be able to defend myself."

The growl subsides and he pulls her onto his lap. "You'll never have to face a male. Have you learned all you can from fighting the other females?"

"No. But they've been fighting forever. I just think it would be a good idea. What would it hurt?"

"You." He squeezes her tightly. "They could hurt you, without meaning to."

"Please?"

"I'm not sure who we'd get to agree to it."

He flops backward, pulling her down with him and yawns hugely. "Time for bed."

They snuggle together in the bed, skin to skin. He's falling asleep.

"What do you know about Nathan Severn?"

He twists and looks at her. "Why?"

She traces circles in his chest hair. "We met him today. Joanna couldn't stop staring."

"Mmm. Nathan is nephew to the Alpha. Don't know too much about him. How did you happen to meet?"

"Jo was driving. I guess she got going a little fast."

Another huge yawn. "You need to be careful."

"I know. Is he mated?"

"Not sure. Don't think so. I'll check." He hugs her close, releases her. "Sleep."

"Yes, dear."

Lyssa goes the next morning to Wyeth Imports to check on the shipping logs. She wanted to see if any improvements could be made. Efficiencies to be gained. Transport changes to exploit. Savings to be earned. Things changed constantly.

Emmett broaches the subject with Erich. "So, Erich, Lyssa asked me something unusual last night."

Erich grins. "Oh, something kinky? Need a third?" Emmett growls and Erich backs away.

"No. It wasn't sex. Luna, you need a mate."

"OK, spoilsport, what was it?"

"She wants to do some sparring with a couple of males."

"Really. I find that odd... and kinda sexy."

Emmett backs Erich against the wall. "Keep it up and you get no chance of being one of the males."

"Seriously. You're actually considering it?"

"She does leave the den more often than a lot of the others. And a human male really isn't a threat to her anymore."

"Unless they're armed. Still, has she beaten all the females or something?"

"I doubt it. But she's right, she's larger than almost all of them. I guess she wants to learn to fight a larger opponent."

"But she's never gonna have to."

"That's what I told her."

"OK, but why me? Why not one of the younger males?"

"I need someone I can trust, someone who knows what they're doing. A younger male with less experience could really hurt her unintentionally."

"Alright. So you've decided then?"

"We'll see. I'm going to take her to the circle tonight and find out how serious she really is."

Joanna starts leaving Lyssa messages: music she'd like to have played, flowers she'd like to have, who she wanted at her table.

Lyssa notes some things and keeps others in the back of her mind. The Alphas had given her a strict budget for the entire event and she would need to balance the gathering of unmated wolves with Jo's party. She starts making several lists.

"What are they getting me?"

"I have no idea, Jo." Oh, god, present. This was a big birthday for her. She and Emmett would have to come up with something.

But, first, she needed a head count. The entire pack would be present for Joanna's party, as would the unmated wolves.

The days prior would be for the unmated wolves. But there would also be some males around to make sure nothing would get out of hand.

God. Where would they all stay?

Head count. Need a head count.

Ariel is putting together the list for Wyeth. Calvin Ross was assembling the list for his pack. Lyssa had to contact the others, which meant Ariel or Randall had to introduce her.

And so, via video feed on the computer, Lyssa is introduced to Aaron Severn. He gives a ballpark estimate of 15 with a promise of a complete list in two days.

Lyssa studies him during the brief conversation.

His hair was light brown, eyes hazel. Blue polo shirt. Hard to get an idea of his size but he seemed to be a bit larger than average. Age between Randall and Calvin, which really didn't narrow it down.

William Macy was darker. Black hair, brown eyes. Dark skin. Red button down shirt.

"Alpha Macy. Good day to you."

"Ariel. To what do I owe this pleasure?"

"You may have heard that we will be celebrating the maturation of our daughter. We intend to host a gathering of unmated werewolves in conjunction with this celebration."

"As you will be interacting with her I wanted to introduce you to the individual organizing the gathering. William, this is Lyssa, mate to Emmett Forester."

"Forester?" He looks at her closely. "So, this is the female my pack member died for?"

Lyssa looks shocked. "D, died? Um, sir?" [Not now, Lyssa. To business now.]

Lyssa takes a deep breath. "Alpha Macy. We invite your unmated wolves to the gathering we will be hosting in September. In order to prepare for this event, I request a listing of those who will be attending."

He waits, looks at her. She sits, breathing, beginning to get really uncomfortable when he says, "Of course. The number is six. I will forward their names to you."

"Thank you, Alpha Macy."

"Good day, William."

"Ariel. Lyssa." The screen goes black.

Lyssa turns to Ariel. "What the hell?"

"He's never told you?" Lyssa shakes her head. "He was injured when he lay on your doorstep."

"So that's... But, why?"

"Emmett had been watching you. One of the Macy males came by and, seeing what had caught his interest, challenged him for you. They fought for you. Emmett won."

"The matter was investigated by both sides and determined to be a legitimate challenge. Alpha Macy has accepted it, but he has not been happy about it."

"Why am I only finding out about this now?"

"Lyssa, this is something we would have expected Emmett to have told you. It was one of the things we investigated and dealt with upon his return, your return."

Lyssa stops, considering. His return. Then my return. Or was it our return? She wasn't one of them yet. Maybe she never would be, like those towns, no, those islands, where you'd always be an outsider because you weren't born there.

She really didn't think of herself as different from the others. She could change. She could mindspeak. She came into heat. They didn't seem to treat Anna any differently, but then Anna had mated an Omega. She was higher profile, being mated to the Beta.

And the way she was introduced, as mate to Emmett Forester. Not by her own name, like she was her own person.

"Lyssa?"

"Huh?"

"We're ready to contact Alpha Gates."

Henry Gates, the fourth Alpha whose unmated members would be invited. "Uh. Yeah."

The screen opens to a face that looks surprisingly like Emmett's.

"Madam Alpha."

"Good day, Cecil. Is Henry available?"

"I apologize, Madam Alpha. Alpha Gates has been called away on business. May I help you?"

"Our daughter is coming to maturation, Cecil." He nods. "The celebration is being organized and I wanted to introduce Henry to Lyssa, since she has been given this task. You, of course, may be interested in Emmett's mate."

"Indeed. This is the female?"

Ariel turns to Lyssa. "Lyssa, this is Cecil Madison, one of Emmett's cousins."

"Oh. Hello." Cecil smiles. Ariel nudges her. Lyssa clears her throat. "We will be celebrating the Alpha daughter's maturation day in September. We invite the unmated wolves of the Gates pack to a gathering. So that we may be prepared, I request a list of the unmated wolves that will be attending."

"Certainly, Lyssa. I believe we would have 11 attending. We will present the list as soon as possible."

"Thank you."

"I was pleased to hear that Emmett had found his mate. Good day to you, Lyssa. Madam Alpha."

"Thank you, Cecil." Ariel blanks the screen.

Ariel looks at Lyssa, wondering at the look on her face, unsure of what it meant. "Lyssa?"

Lyssa exhales. "I need to speak with Simon and Roland. Is there anything you need from me at this time?"

Lyssa shakes her head. "Alright, we'll discuss some aspects of Joanna's party later." Ariel stands and leaves, glancing back once at Lyssa.

Lyssa sits there, trying to gather her feelings together and figure out what was wrong.

A bunch of things had come up the last couple of days that had her uneasy, and a little pissed. Things that were about her that no one had bothered to tell her. Emmett, her Emmett, had killed someone to get to her. Werewolves from another pack knew what she smelled like. She was being introduced as Emmett's mate. And she'd 'met' one of his cousins, who was pleased Emmett had mated. No 'pleased to meet you.' No 'welcome to the family.' She'd lost herself.

She used to have her own job, her own money, her own house.

Now, it was all about someone else. Her, as a part of someone else.

She didn't know what to do, what to think. She loved Emmett. She was happy with Emmett. She had friends here. Why did she suddenly feel so lost?

She put her head on her arms on the desk. She almost felt like crying.

[Lyssa?]

Damn. She couldn't ignore him. [Erich. Can it wait until after lunch?]

[Are you alright?]

[Yeah, fine. Just need to work on something for a bit.]

[OK.]

Lyssa is quiet at lunch, sitting beside Joanna, who is chattering away about her party. Emmett glances at her, noticing the change in her normally cheerful demeanor. He would have to find out what was going on. She had met with the other Alphas, had something gone wrong?

She and Erich work on some details with respect to provisioning the pack while Emmett works with Randall.

She's got one hand in her hair, a pen in the other hand, looking at her lists for the gatherings when Emmett walks in to their room before dinner. "Is something wrong, sweetheart?"

"Fifteen from Severn."

"They have more males than females, Lys."

She gets up from the table as he moves toward her, avoiding him. "We'll be late for dinner." She walks out the door and heads for the stairs.

He catches her at the second landing and pulls her against him. Misinterpreting her mood he says, "You'll do fine, Lyssa. I know it seems overwhelming now."

She exhales and pulls away. "Yeah."

Lyssa is quiet again at dinner, her interactions unusually muted. Ariel notices she is unlike herself. [Lyssa, are you alright?]

[Fine. I'm fine.]

[Emmett, something's wrong with Lyssa.]

[I know, Ariel. I think it's everything needed for the party.]

[I assumed she would ask if she needed help.]

[Let me see what I can find out.]

Lyssa eats less than usual, sighing, pensive.

As Emmett finishes he turns to his mate and lays a hand on her forearm. "If you're done, I have a surprise for you."

She looks down at her plate, then up at him. His chocolate brown eyes shine with excitement. "What?"

"Come outside with me."

Another sigh. "OK."

She rises and he snakes an arm around her waist as they exit the house.

When they get to the circle, he kisses her, strips, and goes wolf.

Inside the circle, he turns and faces her, expectantly.

She stands, arms crossed, facing him. [C'mon, Lyssa.]

[Don't feel like it.]

[You were all gung ho last night. C'mon, let's see what you can do.]

[Why you? Why do you wanna fight with me?]

He sits on his haunches and looks at her. [I have to find out where your skills are so that I can pair you with the right sparring partner.]

Erich, Roland, and Samuel wander out to watch them spar. They find Lyssa standing stiffly outside the circle in human form, Emmett, the grey wolf, sitting inside. [Uh, oh, guys, I don't think this is gonna happen.]

[Too bad. What's going on?]

[Not sure. She's been sulking this afternoon.]

[Well, then, let's go for a run.]

The three males take off as Joanna skids to a stop, staring at the two of them. [Mom? Emmett's in the circle with Lyssa, what's going on?]

[I'm not sure, sweetie. Best let them be for now.]

[We'll get you some help for planning the party.]

[The party's fine.]

[Then what's wrong?]

She paces, casting sideways glances at him. He follows, matching her pace. [You killed someone.]

He practically stumbles. [What? When?]

[Before you ended up at my door. One of the Macy pack.]

[Oh, yeah. The challenge.]

[You told me you fought. You never said you killed him.]

She hears the sigh in her mind. [That's what a challenge is, Lys. Unless we're just sparring, a challenge fight is to the death.]

[You killed someone for looking at me!]

[No. He challenged me for you. It was him or me.]

[And how did he end up there?]

[That's where our ranges meet. C'mon in.]

Lyssa shakes her head. [This is what you wanted.] She turns to leave. He runs over and gently takes her hand with his teeth. Jaws that could crush bones could also be gentle enough to handle an egg. [Something else is wrong.]

She stops. [I'm not me anymore. I'm Emmett's mate.]

He shifts back to human form. [Of course you're you. And you are my mate. What brought this on?]

Lyssa mimics some of the conversations. [This is the female? Yes. This is Lyssa, Emmett Forester's mate. This is the female my pack member died for. You might be interested in Emmett's mate. I'm pleased he found his mate. No one congratulated me, welcomed me. It was all about you and your mate.]

Other werewolves wander out, to run, perhaps to spar. They look at Lyssa and Emmett at the circle and move on.

[Sweetheart, Ariel introduced you to the Alphas today, yes?] Lyssa huffs an affirmative. [How would you introduce me to your friends? You start with the relation they know. You would introduce me as your mate; they wouldn't know me, except through you. This is the same. The Alphas know me and recognize you through your relationship to me.] She still stands stiffly. He strokes her upper arms, then pulls her tightly to him. She resists but can't possibly get away from him.

[Alphas are upset when pack members die and are happy when they find mates. The others are finding out about you and it's different, since you didn't grow up in the packs. What else?]

[Your cousin, happy you found your mate but otherwise barely acknowledged me.]

[Ah. That would be Cecil. Alpha Gates was busy.] Lyssa sighs. [Unsentimental, I don't know how his mate puts up with him sometimes.] She still stands there. [There's more, then. Tell me.]

[Nathan Severn knows what I smell like.]

[Now that's how a wolf thinks.]

She shoves against his chest. [Sure, you think that's OK.]

[Lyssa. Nothing here is unusual. Things just came together at one time. The others are learning about you and you're still learning about being a werewolf. Working on Joanna's party and meeting the Alphas is stressful.]

[Alpha Ross! I need to send to him tonight.]

[We've still got some time. The paper's in our room?] Lyssa nods. [If you don't want to spar... I have it.]

Emmett grabs her, throws her over his shoulder, and heads for the den. "Hey. Hey!"

She pounds on his back. "Put me down!"

He continues into the den, ignoring her protests. [I am not having sex with you.]

[Not what I had in mind.]

Now she's confused, what was he up to?

He carries her up to their room and places her in one of the chairs. "Stay." She sits there, arms crossed, as he goes to the small refrigerator and pours her a glass of wine.

"Getting me drunk won't work either."

He sighs. "Alright, Lyssa, that's enough. I'm not trying to get you drunk. I'm not going to coerce you into having sex with me, though we'd both enjoy it. I just want you to calm down and relax a little. Here." He hands her the glass, which she sets on the side table as he flips off her shoes.

"What are you..."

He grabs a foot and begins to rub. He looks up at her face, dark brown eyes, lips set in a determined line. After a couple of minutes, her head tips back against the chair and she heaves a sigh.

"Lyssa, dear heart," he starts quietly, " I thought I had told you about the Macy male, or that you understood. Does this change anything between us?"

"I guess I just," sigh, " have to get used to it."

"The Severn wolves were given our description and scent when we ran, so that they could identify us. That was unusual, as you well know. You normally only get the other's scent when you meet them." She nods. He switches to the other foot.

"Cecil? Well, that's just the way he is. Have you never known a human like that?"

Lyssa thinks back. One of her coworkers. Her uncle was rather standoffish. "I suppose."

"And, as for the rest," he walks behind the chair and puts warm strong hands on her shoulders and begins to rub. She groans. "..the other packs may or may not know a human has joined the Wyeth pack. They wouldn't know who you are; they know me. So, you were introduced by your association with me, since we are mated. Now, they know who you are."

"But, I'll always be your mate."

He slides his arms around her, "I hope so." and kisses the top of her head.

She looks up at him. "If you insist on using logic." A large exhale. "I guess I'll need to tell you if I wanna go off on a rant."

"Please do. It's almost time for you to contact Alpha Ross."

She takes a sip of the wine and stands. Emmett takes her hand. "Where do you want to be?"

"I'll just stand at the window."

Emmett wraps his arms around her as she holds the script.

Calvin Ross sits at his mate's bedside. Sabine Ross lays on their bed, curled up on her side. Her skin is yellowish and tight over her bones. Her breathing is shallow; her eyes closed. She has lost most of her blond hair. He holds her hand.

"Dad. The Wyeth female is going to attempt to send to you shortly."